Album Review: Hospital Job – Haze Like Me

Less than a week ago I posted a review of the new album by Starter Jackets, and now we have Hospital Job, yet another of the side projects that keep Luke McNeill busy when he’s not playing drums and writing songs in the Copyrights. The band are set to release their fourth album, Haze Like Me, in a few days via Rad Girlfriend Records, Luke McNeill plays everything on the record, although the live incarnation of Hospital Job also consists of Tim Reynolds (Horrible Things) on guitar and vocals, Fred Malcom (Attic Salt / Starter Jackets) on drums and the Copyrights bass player Kevin Rotter.

Any concerns you might have had about the quality suffering due to the quantity of his recent releases are dismissed before you’ve even hit the minute mark as Devices Got Designs starts Haze Like Me off in fine style. Hospital Job‘s latest album rattles along in fine style carrying the trademark punk rock you’d expect, but as this is essentially a solo album it also carries a more personal focus. Haze Like Me constantly varies it’s style, from Sheets In The Freezer, that carries a mellower style that is vaguely reminiscent of Blink-182 at their best, through the heavyweight new wave of The Purest WiFi In Western Europe to the anthemic closing track, Living Well.

Hospital Job is a very different outfit to his other side project, Starter Jackets, and justifies why Luke McNeill is almost a one man production line of all things punk rock under three different monikers at the moment. The Copyrights stamp is of course present but this is a more unique and individual album, whilst it’s one that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of the Copyrights it’s also one that can proudly stand alone as it carries new wave, power pop, pop punk and punk rock in perfect proportion in it’s grooves.

Haze Like Me I can be pre-ordered via Rad Girlfriend Records here

You can stream and download Haze Like Me via Bandcamp here